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Priority

This page is in need of spading. See its section on the spading page for more information, and how you can help.Any messages that have priority over moves - basically, anything that was overlooked; verify Quick Claw's and Custap Berry messages' priority in Generation IV

Priority (Japanese: 先制preemption) is a characteristic of moves, such that any move with a higher priority than another will always be performed first. When two moves have the same priority, the users' Speed statistics will determine which one is performed first in a battle.

Contents

Mechanics

Each move has a hidden priority value in the game data, with values ranging from +5 to -7. The great majority of moves have no special priority: their priority value is 0. A move with a positive priority is a priority move (Japanese: 先制攻撃preemptive attack). Moves with a positive priority may also be referred to as having an increased priority[1] and moves with a negative priority a decreased priority. In the fandom, moves that have the same priority are said to be in the same priority bracket.

Moves with increased priority can be blocked if a Pokémon is protected by Quick Guard, if it or one of its allies has the Ability Queenly Majesty or Dazzling, or if it is on the ground while Psychic Terrain is in effect. In Generation V, however, Quick Guard does not block moves that gain an increased priority from Prankster. Since Generation VII, Dark-type Pokémon are also protected from moves from foes if they gained priority from Prankster.

Move priority is not affected by the effects of Trick Room, which only reverses the Speed-resolved order of moves within a priority bracket; moves with higher priority are still performed before ones with lower priority. Some held items and Abilities also affect a move's resolution within its priority bracket (ignoring even Trick Room), but not the priority itself. The items Full Incense and Lagging Tail and the Ability Stall cause the affected Pokémon to go last in its priority bracket, while the items Quick Claw and Custap Berry cause the user to go first in its priority bracket.

Certain actions always occur before any moves can be performed (with the possible exception of Pursuit). The messages for the activation of Quick Claw, Custap Berry, and O-Powers are always shown before anything else. Switching out, rotating, using items, escaping, and the charging messages of Focus Punch, Beak Blast and Shell Trap are displayed or performed next. In Generation I only, AI does not have priority when using items or switching, while in online battles, switching can be performed even if the other player hasn't made their move yet. In Generation III only, players always switch before NPCs do, with "player 1" always switching before "player 2" does in online battles. Mega Evolution and Dynamaxing generally occurs after any switching has occurred. If a Pokémon is Mega Evolving or rotating and using Pursuit on a Pokémon that is switching out, however, the Mega Evolution or rotation always happens before the Pokémon uses Pursuit (and therefore before the other Pokémon's switch).

Pursuit is a special exception to the general rule of priority, due to its effect. Switching fundamentally happens before any moves can be performed, but when Pursuit is targeting a Pokémon that switches out, it will hit the Pokémon before it can switch, meaning that it will go before any other move, no matter its priority. If multiple Pursuits are targeting the same Pokémon and the Pokémon switches out, if the Pokémon faints before all of the Pursuits have executed, the remaining Pursuits will execute at their normal priority.

Since charging Focus Punch had a higher priority than switching in Generation III, in a Double Battle, if the player selected Focus Punch then cancelled the selection, then switched that Pokémon out, it would still begin charging Focus Punch before switching. Its high priority also gave it the odd effect of occurring before the opponent used their items or Pokémon were switched out.

All moves that have ever had -7 priority have the word "room" in their names.

In the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series, due to the inability to apply the concept of priority because the Speed stat did not exist prior to Super Mystery Dungeon and does not determine the attacking order, damaging moves with increased priority in the core series games become moves that have a range of 2 tiles.